She will be remembered along with other women pioneers in aviation and space like Amelia Earhart, the WASPS of WW2 and Eileen Collins.

I recall one sign before her flight on STS-7 that read, 'RIDE SALLY RIDE... AND THE GUYS CAN COME ALONG TOO..'

As others have said, she was uncomfortable in the spotlight but used her place in history to inspire others. Fair winds and blue skies, Dr. Ride.

irish guyMember

Posts: 277From: Kerry IrelandRegistered: Dec 2001

posted 07-24-2012 08:49 AM
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Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 07-24-2012 09:23 AM
When yesterday's news of Sally Ride's passing was first reported, I was at the airport waiting for a delayed flight to Houston. As it happens, the delay allowed for the time to get this topic and a quick front page summary up on the site, and then the ride home offered the offline solitude to write a longer obituary.

It also provided the time to let the news of Ride's passing sink in and reflect what she had meant to me.

I first met Sally during the mid-1990s while serving as the online, on-air host of the National Space Day webcasts. During a couple of the years' broadcasts, I had the opportunity to relay the questions that students were asking on the internet for her to answer.

From the start, she was friendly and generous with her time.

It was several years later, at the opening of SPACE.com's Washington, D.C. bureau that I had a chance to meet up with her again, followed by a short overlap when we worked together in the New York City offices of the online space news website. I remember Sally was particularly supportive of my own efforts to start online forums so that the public — and in particular, students — could chat with astronauts and other space news makers in a live setting.

Regardless how many times we passed each other in the hallway, I couldn't help but smile knowing there went America's first woman in space. It helped that she would often greet me with a smile in return.

In the years since, I had the pleasure of voting for and watching her being inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, and working with her company, Sally Ride Science, to develop products for fundraising and even man a table at one of her festivals held here at Rice University.

My last interaction with her was prior to the launch of NASA's GRAIL lunar probes, which included the student-controlled MoonKam cameras that her company was managing for NASA.

Sally's devotion to inspiring students was an inspiration unto itself. I was only 7 when she first flew into space, but I know that her example and the brief chances we had to interact later in life, shaped my own advocacy and outreach efforts through collectSPACE and other endeavors.

Sally Ride will be forever missed but never forgotten.

JeffMember

Posts: 211From: Fayetteville, NC, USARegistered: May 2009

posted 07-24-2012 09:34 AM
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rjb1elecMember

Posts: 130From: St Helens, Merseyside, EnglandRegistered: Oct 2004

posted 07-24-2012 10:33 AM
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Lunar_module_5unregistered

posted 07-24-2012 10:50 AM
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uk spacefanMember

Posts: 96From: LondonRegistered: Jan 2007

posted 07-24-2012 11:17 AM
This is very sad news -my thoughts are with her family.God speed Sally.

randyMember

Posts: 1287From: West Jordan, Utah USARegistered: Dec 1999

posted 07-24-2012 11:22 AM
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MSSMember

Posts: 372From: Kolo, PolandRegistered: May 2003

posted 07-24-2012 11:25 AM
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cspgMember

Posts: 4046From: Geneva, SwitzerlandRegistered: May 2006

posted 07-24-2012 01:43 PM
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PhilipMember

Posts: 4803From: Brussels, BelgiumRegistered: Jan 2001

posted 07-24-2012 01:58 PM
She remains an inspiration for many!

. RIP

englauMember

Posts: 97From: tampa, florida, usaRegistered: Mar 2012

posted 07-24-2012 03:08 PM
Is there going to be any sort of public memorial at Kennedy Space Center or the like?

quote:Originally posted by englau:Is there going to be any sort of public memorial at Kennedy Space Center or the like?

There is a wreath laying ceremony at the Astronaut Hall of Fame underway now.

The space community will gather to remember trailblazing astronaut Sally Ride for a wreath-laying ceremony at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville. The ceremony is open to the public and planned for 4:30 p.m. EDT.

Kennedy Center Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana and former astronauts Jon McBride and Robert Crippen will take part.

posted 07-26-2012 09:53 AM
Thanks, Mr. Pearlman for the link. I helped contribute and also passed it along to some others.

I still can't believe she's gone. What an brave and inspirational woman. She was such an inspiration to so many of us, me included.

Rob JoynerMember

Posts: 1292From: GA, USARegistered: Jan 2004

posted 07-26-2012 11:40 PM
I never had the honor of meeting Sally Ride. She was high on my list, but it never came to be. However, I did get to see her inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, from about the third row, I think, before it began to pour down rain that day. That was in 2003.

As far as I know, Ride never appeared publically again at KSC. Does anyone know this to be a fact, or did I miss an opportunity?

astro-nutMember

Posts: 512From: washington, Illinois USARegistered: Jan 2006

posted 07-27-2012 10:39 AM
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I never had the opportunity to meet Dr. Ride but I did get to see her when she was in Illinois doing a presentation.

A very eloquent tribute to Sally - gives people an insight into the other (post-NASA) side of this wonderful woman.

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 10-30-2012 02:54 PM
Sally Ride's family attended today's debut of the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Pavilion at the California Science Center, where they were recognized during the opening ceremony.